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Hey Deb!! Outta curiosity, what’re some of your fav non-Shepard ships? And if there are any rarepairs there too!

Hey! I’ve been thinking about this question all day long and I think I’ve got them all! I’m a multishipper so I like a lot of non-Shepard & rare ships <3

The two main ones are Ash/Kaidan and Legion/Tali. 

I started shipping Ash/Kaidan after at least two playthroughs. I just noticed in ME1 that I liked their interactions. I think they work well because they can take turns being intense but are usually like best friends who are really comfortable with each other. A bit of edge to the banter as well. If those two survive, they would be a power couple for sure. @chloefraazer would agree I think :)

Tali/Legion: I think they’re truly beautiful and interesting on their own but together you can see some very amazing growth.  Sometimes being in love makes us see things with a sort of filter. With Tali/Legion, I think it’s a matter of taking away the filter, peeling the layers, revealing something raw and true, and that’s why the love that grows from that seems that much extraordinary to me. They’re linked and it's HEARTBREAKING.

Ann Bryson/James is a ship that I have a lot of feelings about. I think they would be very sweet together.

I also enjoy Liara/Javik, Aria/Nyreen, Steve/James, Samantha/Kasumi and Diana/Samantha.

I’ve always enjoyed Miranda/Garrus and Miranda/Jack but lately I’ve been into some new to me Miranda pairings: Miranda/Joker and Miranda/Kaidan. 

I also like Kaidan/Joker to be honest, I think their dynamic should have been explored a lot more in the trilogy. 

What about you??? And everyone really, I do love some rare ships discussions!!!!

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one of my favorite shepley moments + a top tier ashley & tali interaction*

ash and shepard standing next to each other while tali fumbles with how to adress ashley now

*yes this interaction is great esp if your shep isn't a cheater

ash's amused smile and look at shepard like they're sharing an inside joke

"i think we can drop ranks, admiral" its said in a lighthearted joking tone - (i wonder if its how she would talk to her younger sisters after they had a fight and it was a way to let them know she wasn't upset with them)

-

Ashley Williams's Guardian Armory (LE3)

Cleric's Breathers for Male Shepard (LE3)

Cleric's Armor Mash-ups for Male Shepard (LE3)

Morning's Hairstyles for MaleShep LE3

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50yo white guy in my work started playing mass effect on my recommendation. he comes into the office yesterday, “im on three. why is ashley white now? does anyone talk about it online?” and gave me a that’s so raven style flashback to The Discourse

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Practical Bodies for Squadmates (MELE3): Ashley Williams ↪ Ashley Consistency Project patch

Ashley Consistency Project (MELE3)

Jenya's Ashley complexion (MELE3)

Practical Bodies for Squadmates (MELE3)

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Ashley can box the punching bag. As a treat

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MASS EFFECT & FIRST MEETINGS Ashley Williams "Thanks for your help, Commander. I didn't think I was going to make it. Gunnery Chief Ashley Williams of the 212. You the one in charge here?" Mass Effect: Legendary Edition (2021)

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This post is from Ashley's main writer, Chris L'etoile! I'd heard before that he said on the Bioware forums she was Latina but never actually saw the post (by the time I got into ME, the Bioware forums were already known as a place to avoid). Screenshot via Twitter user ~poormanstoe.

That said, interesting that Salma Hayek is his reference or inspiration here: though Hayek is absolutely culturally Latina, biologically she is Lebanese and Spanish. Personally in my headcanoning of Ashley's peoples, Arab had not (yet) crossed my mind :)

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Ashley n Kaidan

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hello mass effect fan. you hate Ashley for her aliens and animals line and yet call alien squad mates endearments such as "bird," "dinosaur," "lizard," and "frog." you have one minute to explain your justification on why your animals are better than Ashley's before I kill every alien you've romanced.

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Just remembered how much I love Ashley and I am now considering replaying the whole trilogy (it's been about a year) just for her

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garrus loves badass women send tweet

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do you like video games?

there's a petition going around for both the UK and the EU that states that consumer law should be updated so once you sell or license a video game, the game must stay playable, even when the game is discontinued.

EU petition

UK petition

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*platonic smash is acceptable*

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Shepard: At this point, I think I know fairly well what you like

Ashley: You’re scratched the surface. Scratch a little deeper.

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If Ashley Williams has a million fans, then I am one of them. If Ashley Williams has ten fans, then I am one of them. If Ashley Williams has only one fan, then that is me. If Ashley Williams has no fans, then that means I am no longer on earth. If the world is against Ashley Williams, then I am against the world.

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I almost forgot to show the rest of my highlights of my cursed "No Import ME3" Male Shep run, oops!

A lot of people died. 😬 Jack (Jacqueline Nought), my bb Kaidan, 😭Legion (unavoidable by the end of ME3 in any run), Miranda (I did everything I was supposed to in 3 but forgot that without an import, you don't have her loyalty from 2 so...)

Thane (unavoidable except he died in ME2 and since both he and Kirrahe are dead, then the Salarian Councilor also dies and Udina frames Shep for the murder 😬) and Wrex. My boy Wrex!!! 😭😭😭

Without Wrex and with Maelon's data not saved from ME2, then Eve was doomed. I immediately noticed that when you talk to her, she coughs a lot and often sounds weaker. It was so sad to experience but, at the same time, I'm glad they foreshadowed her tragic end ahead of time.

I wasn't expecting a funeral pyre for her! 😭😭😭

I noticed that Shepard's Renegade scars got noticeably worse after this. I definitely believe it was his guilty conscious. That's him in the first cap at Eve's funeral, then immediately back on the Normandy.

This turned out to be as Renegade as his eyes went. I was expecting them to go full Terminator red but it must've required an even more Renegade run than this. I'd started more Renegon, so I think that affected it.

I definitely enjoyed his romance with Ashley. It was nice to see how things unfolded with her.

I also made sure to get Javik and brought him on a lot of missions with me to make up for all of the runs I've previously done where I, um, left him in the freezer. 😯😉

Though I find this does actually create something unrealistic. Yes, even more unrealistic than this earlier moment:

Ashley sang "Fly Me To The Moon" the entire elevator ride, lol! 🕊️🌛

Back on point with Javik, though. Other than just the fact the game forces him to leave with the other squadmate, you can't tell me that he would just give up and leave and let Shepard continue on alone to try and destroy the Reapers. I don't care HOW badly J-man was hurt, he was still on his feet and was able to help Ash, so you'll never convince me that anything less than Strict Plot Requirements got him to go back to the Normandy instead of getting vengeance for his people. 🤷‍♀️😉

There was one thing, though, that I think it's an absolute shame that you can only have happen by doing a cursed run:

Mordin lives. Oh man, I loved that SO much. You get an email from him later where he's joined the teams working on the Crucible. You can talk to him one last time along with your other remaining squadmates who weren't on the Normandy with you.

It legit made me teary-eyed just to see him survive, though the cost was a dreadful one to get him here. Still, I'm honestly glad to have played this cursed timeline just to get moments like this!

In conclusion, one thing I couldn't help but wonder about, though, was a decision I had to make all the way back at the start in the Interactive comic, whether to go immediately to save the crew (in ME2) or to keep recruiting and making the Normandy stronger. I chose to save the crew but lost Jack, Thane and Legion.

So, I couldn't help but wonder... what happens if you make the other choice? 🤔

Stay tuned, friends! 🤗🤗🤗

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